91 deaths of homeless in King County in 2015

The King County Medical Examiner's report on homeless deaths in 2015 can be found here.

There were 91.

6 were homicides. I count 28 that I can link directly to drugs and alcohol (acute toxicity, et cetera). There may be more that can be linked indirectly to drugs and alcohol (for example, why did someone step in front of a vehicle? Why did someone fall onto I-5? et cetera).

6 of them were Native American.
9 were Black.
4 were Asian.
4 were Hispanic.

16 were female.

Washington State is 4% Black, 2% Native American, 13% Hispanic, and 8% Asian -- and about 50% female (statistics from here).

Often, violence against the homeless goes unreported. The Seattle Times has an article about that here.

The homeless live on average about 30 years less than the rest of the population. Sad but true. Drugs, alcohol, and violence are some of the reasons.



Opinions expressed by me might not be the opinion of the Board of Greater Seattle Cares.